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Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Wine Blogging Wednesday #50: Which Wine, Which Wilderness?

Or also known as: Wine Blogging Wednesday #50: Which Wine, Which Wilderness for the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman? Sorry, I had to take advantage of all of the "W's"

My wine blogging friend, Russ Beebee (aka Wine Hiker) at Winehiker Witiculture is the host for WBW #50 this glorious fall month of October. For this significant number 50, Russ has asked his fellow wine bloggers to get outdoors and celebrate the season with a hike 50 miles of our home and finish with a post-picnic and a good bottle of wine.

Sorry Russ, unfortunately, the last few weekends have not allowed me an extra 50 miles, so I made this WBW easy - - so easy it was a walk in the park. Oh wait - -it was a walk in the park - - the grand dame of all Walla Walla parks - - Pioneer Park!

Autumn is my favorite time of the year and especially in Walla Walla. As I tickle through my Rolodex full of memories I have taken many walks through this beautiful 58-acres (and no matter the season, it's always beautiful), since I first learned how to walk. I have looked through the assortment of colored leaves and nuts on the ground left by Mother Nature. I have taken in the silence under an old tree only to hear the cracking of bark from a nearby sycamore. Pioneer Park is home to many of Washington State’s record trees, some planted around the turn of the 20th Century and many recorded as the largest known of their species in the state.

The crowning glory of the park is the gazebo in the center of the park and now a city landmark that was built in 1910 at a cost of $1,250. The land for the park was purchased in 1901 and John C. Olmstead, the architect who was also responsible for the design of New York City’s Central Park, arrived in Walla Walla in 1906 and influenced the designs of Walla Walla’s first city parks. Besides a water fountain, community center, rose garden, playground, whimsical Tom Otterness sculpture and duck ponds, Pioneer Park also has an aviary that is home to approximately 200 exotic birds.

After a walk in the park with Chloe, my four-legged companion, we had our post pic-nic and wine (Chloe had water) at home due to the city codes regarding alcohol - - and besides, rain was on the way. A nosh from an assortment of charcuterie and imported cheese, a few nibbles of pecans with a glaze tasting similiar to pecan pie filling, and crisp bites of juicy Asian pear slices, along with my wine of choice.

100% Cabernet Franc is one of my favorite varietals for rose' and Steve Brooks from Trust Cellars Rose - 2007 has produced such a glorious pink wine. It's a full bodied wine showing flavors of cherry pie and spicy notes of cinnamon. Mmm...like cherry pie out of the oven! The spiciness of the flavors and the cool temperature of the wine was such a perfect match with the selection of salami and cheese and seemed to add a tart, yet extra juicy flavor to my mouthful of crunchy fruit and nuts.

When I asked Steve if he had used the saignee method for his rose production, he looked amusingly shocked and laughed while telling me, "No," his rose' was the real deal! He had deliberately set out to make a rose and did not "bleed" out the juice from a fermenting Cabernet Franc to improve the original red wine. Yup, there's a good reason the name on this bottle of wine is "Trust." And Trust Rose' is a great example that rosados, rosatos, and roses' have caught on and they are no longer the "blush" that we use to know. Even the color of the wine in the glass is elegant, yet showing a bit of whimsy from the label. And no bother, now that summer is behind us, this refreshing bottle of pink will continue be a perfect match for the Thanksgiving turkey - - that is if one can leave it alone until the holidays! Cheers!